PBS Stations Testing Mobile Emergency Alert System

PBS has announced that four public stations around the country are participating in a pilot project to delivery emergency alert information over mobile digital TV signals.

The Mobile Emergency Alert System (M-EAS) pilot project will test the delivery of video, maps, photos, audio and text to mobile devices using mobile DTV signals. The project is being funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and LG Electronics. The four participating PBS stations are: WGBH Boston, Vegas PBS (KLVX) in Las Vegas, and Alabama Public Television stations WBIQ (Birmingham) and WAIQ (Montgomery). Mobile emergency alert systems using broadcast signals played an important role in delivering emergency information in Japan during the tsunami and earthquake earlier this year when cellular systems were not working. The participants in the pilot project believe that a system based on U.S. ATSC standards will ultimately be an important tool for delivering information during disasters when cell phone systems might not work. While public broadcasters are initially testing the system, the M-EAS system is designed to be used by both commercial and public over the air broadcasters.